Common Fantasy Archetypes The Hobbit

The Quest  The main objective that the hero and his party must accomplish in the story  In most fantasy stories, the typical objective is to defeat a great evil, right a wrong, or restore order  The fight of good against evil is key  The quest is epic in proportion – the need to succeed dominates the story and the characters and audience are frequently reminded of this  Long journey (both in time and distance) packed with hardships, close-calls, and battles

Questions for The Quest  Explain how Bilbo’s objective in the story demonstrates the quality of a quest  Give two reasons why the events in the story can be seen as a fight of good vs. evil  Give two specific examples from the novel (including page numbers) that demonstrate the story’s epic nature.

The Hero  The protagonist of the story who others rely upon to succeed in the quest  The hero usually has special abilities (strength, intelligence, resourcefulness) that make him/her the only person who can truly succeed in the quest  The hero frequently grows and matures as a result of the experiences he/she has during the quest, especially if the hero is a child or displays childlike qualities

Questions for The Hero  Explain what makes Bilbo Baggins the hero of this story, including any special abilities  Explain two ways in which Bilbo displays “childlike qualities” in the novel  Explain how Bilbo matures as a result of his experiences on the quest

The Party or Family  The party is a group of secondary characters that assist the hero in the quest  They frequently allow the hero to unlock his true potential and discover things about himself that he never knew, either by sharing their own feelings and experiences, or else by putting him in situations that force him to rise to the occasion  Additionally the party members will frequently learn things about themselves through their interactions with the hero

The Party Questions  Name at least three other members of Bilbo’s party, not dwarves  Give a specific example from the book in which you explain how Bilbo’s party helps him grow or mature  Give two examples from the story showing how Bilbo helps the members of the party to learn or progress as characters

The Old Man  A character that may or may not join the hero’s party, but who still helps the hero to succeed by offering wisdom, advice, and knowledge  The old man frequently has magical powers

Questions for The Old Man  Explain what purpose Gandalf serves in the story  Give one specific piece of advice, knowledge, or property Gandalf give the party that allows them to complete their quest, then explain how they could not have done so without it  Give one example of Gandalf’s use of magic in the story, explaining how he used his powers to assist the party.

The Villain and Monsters  The antagonist of the story that prevents the hero from succeeding in the quest  The villain may be humanoid or monster, but in fantasy literature, the villain’s evil is usually noticeable in their appearance as well as their actions  Regular monsters are defined by simple emotions like greed or hunger or anger and exist only to satisfy those needs by robbing, eating and killing  Villains are intelligent – can create complex plans and execute these over time. Many of these are designed to trick the hero into failing

Questions for The Villain and Monsters  For any monsters in the story, give one specific quality for that monster that makes it monstrous  Explain how and why Smaug represents the story’s villain, using two specific examples from the book.  Contrast any one of the monsters from the book with Smaug; explain what separates them and why the monster you selected is NOT also the story’s villain

Animals  In fantasy literature, animals play an important role  Most times, animals assist the hero and are often on the “good” side  It is usually because they dislike the “evil” side and not because they like the hero  Animals (who often have magical powers) represent nature and the “evil” is often destroying nature, so the animals help in order to preserve nature, not to be helpful

Questions for Animals (includes: eagles, Beorn, the thrush, the ravens)  Select one animal from the story and give an example that shows them to be on the “good” side of the conflict  Give a specific example from chapters where an animal helped to turn the tide of any of the numerous conflicts described in favor of the “good guys”.  For any of the animals in the story, find proof from the novel that they are helping Bilbo and his party for selfish reasons

Literary Concept - Bildungsroman  This is any story in which the protagonist, who is usually a child living a comfortable lifestyle, gets kicked out of that lifestyle (and typically his home) through some sudden and/or tragic event, then learns and grows as a person as a result of the experiences he has had in the story

Bilbo’s Self-Discovery  Ch 1 – Bilbo is recruited to be a burglar  Ch 2 – Bilbo’s interactions with the trolls  Ch 4 – Bilbo’s interactions with Gollum  Ch 8 – Bilbo’s interactions with the spiders  Ch 9 – Bibo rescues the dwarfs from the wood elves  Ch 12 – Bilbo’s interactions with Smaug  Ch 15 – Bilbo’s theft of the Arkenstone and betrayal of the dwarves